This the 23rd segment in our Latin music series Latin Roots.
It’s time for our Latin Roots segment but this time it is a little different as our correspondent Felix Contreras from NPR’s Alt-Latino is actually going to play congas and talk about the drums that are central to so much Latin music.

Songwriting and producing legend John Cale is back with Shifty Adventures in Nookie World, his fifteenth solo album and first since 2005. Cale shape-shifts often throughout the record, channeling discotheque on the Danger Mouse-produced “I Wanna Talk 2 U,” acoustic picking his way through “Living With You,” and venturing into folklore on “Sandman (Flying Dutchman).” Post-punk, hip-hop and everything in between are covered throughout the 12 new tracks.

Singer-songwriter Ben Schneider is the creative force behind the band, which started as a recording project at his home in Michigan on Lake Huron. Two EPs later, Lord Huron signed to IAMSOUND Records and released their first full-length album last month called, Lonesome Dreams.

With a 25-year career spanning successes with shoegaze outfit Slowdive, country-rock group Mojave 3 and his own solo albums, it’s no wonder Neil Halstead has been described by Allmusic as “one of Britain’s most respected songwriters.”
When he was only 17 years old, Halstead helped found and fronted cult shoegaze band Slowdive, which morphed into country-folk outfit Mojave 3. Mojave 3 released a string of highly celebrated albums that merged jangly alt-country with dusky indie-pop.

Bloc Party are back. The British band whose debut album, Silent Alarm, was a critical sensation in 2006 released their new album Four this year after a few years hiatus. The band’s latest, Four, arrived in August, a departure from recent electronic forays and a return to the artful post-punk rock of the band’s heyday. The new album is raw, vibrant and palpably aggressive

After 15 years as Death Cab for Cutie frontman, Benjamin Gibbard has finally released his first solo album. Former Lives often goes beyond the indie pop confines of Death Cab for Cutie, touching on genres including Latin, alt-country, and ‘70s power pop.

Terry Callier passed away on Saturday so we are re-airing a portion of our 1998 interview with him on Friday’s show. David, this begins with him talking: “All of these things are gifts as far as I’m concerned…” You had just asked him about how he feels about songwriting, in particular with the song “Lazarus Man” (which he performs after giving his answer).

One of the leading alternative rock bands in the 90s. The band has only recently reunited for live performances in 2012. One of the most critically acclaimed bands of the 90’s, the Afghan Whigs are Vocalist/rhythm guitarist Greg Dulli, lead guitarist Rick McCollum, and drummer Steve Earle who met while attending the University of Cincinnati. The fourth member, bassist John Curley, was a photographer at the Cincinnati Inquirer and happened to meet Dulli at a friend’s apartment. The quartet formed Afghan Whigs in 1986 and had a dedicated cult following until the dissolution of the band in 2001.

In this 22nd segment of our Latin music series - Latin Roots - Jasmine Garsd from NPR's Alt-Latino talks about Nuevo Cancion, a broad style of Latin music concerning social and political issues.
Nueva Cancion means "new song" and it's an audio/ideological style was born in the 60s and 70s when many Latin countries were being ruled by repressive dictators.

Nick Waterhouse made waves with his debut record Time’s All Gone earlier this year, establishing himself as one of music’s most refreshingly rough-around-the-edges soul men. On his debut, Waterhouse draws from the classic sound of ‘50s American pop music with a distinctive voice of his own, shouting and growling throughout the record’s 11 tracks with infectious vigor.

Kinky is a five-member band from Monterrey, Mexico, formed in 1998 and consisting of Gilberto Cerezo, Ulises Lozano, Carlos Chairez, Omar Góngora, and Cesar Pliego. Legendary DustBrother John King, who has worked with Beck, the Rolling Stones and the Beastie Boys, produced their latest album, Sueño De La Maquina (Dream Machine) which was released on September 4.

With his self-titled album entering the Top 5 of iTunes’ R&B/Soul charts last year, soul singer/songwriter Allan Stone has come a long way from not being allowed to listen to secular music as a child.
Instead, Stone was exposed to religious music at a young age growing up in Washington because his father was a pastor.

The Wallflowers have reconnected, or 'rebooted' so to speak, to release their first studio album since 2005's Rebel, Sweetheart and with a slightly tweaked line-up they pick up right where they left off.

No one channels the spirit of '80s New Wave as infectiously as George Lewis Jr., better known under his stage name Twin Shadow. Lewis wears his ‘80s pop influences on his sleeve throughout his sophomore album Confess, released on 4AD Records this July. The sleek synth-pop vibe of “Five Seconds” recalls Duran Duran and “Run My Heart” is not unlike many Springsteen power ballads.

Soul legend Bobby Womack was considered a survivor before starting work on his latest album (his first since 1994) The Bravest Man in the Universe, released in June. But after overcoming hospitalization with pneumonia and successful treatment of colon cancer while in the midst of recording the album, Womack has delivered his greatest comeback yet. Womack's first studio record in 12 years is a stunning mix of regretful introspection and hopeful romance, running the gamut from elecro-disco to stripped-down storytelling along the way.

As the favorite to win the Mercury Music Prize in November and a Top 20 phenomenon in the UK, Alt-J is perhaps the most successful British Band of 2012. Alt-J has made its splash with their debut album An Awesome Wave

Three years removed from their celebrated record Veckatimest, Grizzly Bear has once again earned critical acclaim with Shields, the band's fourth studio album. Shields builds upon the group's innovative indie rock of the past, mixing melodic pop with lush orchestrations and emotional honesty.

The legendary country singer-songwriter and actor continues to fuse multiple genres in his music with 3 Pears, his first album in five years. Released last month, the record is full of surprises, jumping from Motown and soul to light pop and no-frills rock and roll.

The Divine Fits are an indie rock group comprised of Spoon’s Britt Daniel, Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs, and New Bomb Turks’ Sam Brown. A few years ago, Daniel attended a Handsome Furs concert; he and Boeckner have remained friends ever since.

Montreal based, Patrick Watson is a Montreal makes music the way some directors make film - wide angled and with lots of emotion. His last album 2009’s Wooden Arm was nominated for the Canadian Polaris Music Prize, a prestigious music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label.

Debo Band is an eleven member group from Boston that has a sound deeply influenced by the traditional music played in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the late 60’s and early 70’s. This groovy harmony, referred to as Addis swing, came about in the cultural freedom of that period before a military coupe put an end to the era.